Edgar Steven Davids ( dutch pronunciation : [ ˈɛdɡɑr ˈdaːvɪts ] ( ) ; born 13 March 1973 ) is a Dutch-Surinamese erstwhile professional football player and current coach. After beginning his career with Ajax, winning several domestic and international titles, he subsequently played in Italy for Milan, and belated enjoyed a successful spell with Juventus, before being loaned out to Barcelona in 2004. He went on to play for Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur before returning to Ajax. Having struggled with injuries for two years, Davids returned to competitive football during a brief enchantment with Crystal Palace before retiring at the senesce of 37. In 2012, he was appointed player-manager at the English League Two cabaret Barnet. He resigned by common agreement as coach in January 2014. He was capped 74 times by the Netherlands at international flat, scoring six goals, and represented his area at the FIFA World Cup ( once ) and the UEFA European Championship ( three times ).
Reading: Edgar Davids
One of the greatest and most recognizable players of his coevals, Davids often stood out on the football field due to his dreadlocked hair and the protective goggles he wore due to glaucoma. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] A battleful and energetic, however creative and adept midfielder, Davids was nicknamed “ The Pitbull ” by Louis vanguard Gaal because of his marking ability, aggression, and hard tackling style of play. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] In 2004, he was one of the players chosen by Pelé to feature in the FIFA 100, his number of the world ‘s greatest living footballers .
early life [edit ]
Davids was born in Suriname and is of Afro-Surinamese and partial jewish descent from his parental grandma. [ 9 ] The kin moved to the Netherlands when Davids was an baby. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] His cousin Lorenzo is besides a football player. [ 11 ] [ 12 ]
Club career [edit ]
ajax [edit ]
After being rejected on two previous occasions by the club, [ 13 ] Davids started his career at the age of 12 with Ajax. [ 14 ] He made his first team debut on 6 September 1991 in a 5–1 home succeed over RKC Waalwijk. He helped the Amsterdam club to three domestic Eredivisie titles, vitamin a well as continental success with the 1992 UEFA Cup and the 1995 UEFA Champions League. In the 1996 UEFA Champions League concluding, he missed Ajax ‘s first penalty in the shoot-out, which they ultimately lost to Juventus. While at Ajax, Davids was nicknamed “ The Pitbull “ by Ajax director Louis van Gaal due to his ferocious expressive style of play in the team ‘s midfield. [ 7 ]
Milan and Juventus [edit ]
At the start of the 1996–97 season, Davids moved to Italy to play for Milan. After an unsuccessful spell where he failed to establish himself in the first team, he moved on to league rivals Juventus in December 1997 for a £ 5.3 million transfer fee. He soon became a permanent beginning team extremity in the midfield, normally playing on the impart flank or in the center, as a defensive midfielder, forming a celebrated midfield partnership alongside french playmaker Zinedine Zidane. [ 7 ] [ 15 ] Six successful years in Turin followed, with Davids helping the side to the Serie A title in 1998, 2002 and 2003, vitamin a well as two Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Juventus coach Marcello Lippi once described him as “ my one-man engine room ”. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Davids was much inspirational in Europe, playing 15 times as the cabaret made it all the way to the 2002–03 Champions League final ahead losing to Milan on penalties. He had besides previously managed to reach the Champions League final examination with Juventus in 1998, followed by a semi-final stopping point during the 1998–99 season, american samoa well as reaching the 2002 Coppa Italia Final. [ 6 ]
Barcelona ( lend ) [edit ]
Davids joined Barcelona on lend in January 2004 from Juventus. Joining midway through a temper where the club was struggling in mid-table and recently appointed director Frank Rijkaard was under considerable coerce, Davids led Barça ‘s successful revival of form which saw them finishing moment to Valencia in La Liga. [ 16 ] Davids ‘ arrival has been cited as the catalyst for the Catalan club ‘s authority of spanish and european football during the mid-to-late 2000s ( ten ), with Barcelona winning La Liga the stick to season ( after five years without winning the league entitle ) and a La Liga and Champions League double in 2005–06. [ 17 ]
Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur [edit ]
In the summer of 2004, Davids permanently moved on to italian club Inter Milan on a three-year compress. [ 18 ] When Inter terminated the remaining years of his contract in August 2005, he moved to England on a barren transfer to play for Tottenham Hotspur. [ 19 ] He had a successful stay at Tottenham and immediately became a winnow darling. His beginning and only goal was in a 2–1 away win against Wigan Athletic. [ 20 ] Davids played for Spurs in the 2005–06 and the 2006–07 seasons, with the club finishing fifth in both seasons .
return to Ajax [edit ]
Davids signed once more for Ajax on 28 January 2007 [ 21 ] and played his first gear equal against clubhouse rivals Feyenoord on 4 February. [ 22 ] After the mid-season switch, Davids proved his value for the Ajax team again. He was one of the key midfielders in the run for the Dutch championship that was lost on one one goal to PSV on the final examination day of the league. He besides played a major function in Ajax ‘s cup crusade. He secured the KNVB Cup for Ajax by scoring the final examination penalty in a thrilling penalty shoot-out against AZ. Prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, Davids ‘ leg was broken in a pre-season friendly against Go Ahead Eagles, sidelining him for around three months. [ 23 ] In May 2008, Davids said he would leave Ajax when his sign expired on 30 June. [ 24 ] Davids played against the LA Galaxy on 6 December 2008 in an exhibition match held at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, as function of an Oceania XI All-Star team, despite the fact he is not from Oceania and has never played for an Oceanic clubhouse or national team. [ 25 ] Davids was in contract negotiations with English Championship club Leicester City from 22 October 2009, [ 26 ] however he failed to make a decisiveness for over a week and the golf club withdrew their extend on 30 October. [ 26 ]
crystal palace [edit ]
On 20 August 2010, Davids agreed a pay-as-you-play deal with English Championship golf club Crystal Palace. He made his debut on 24 August 2010 at left-back in the Second Round of the League Cup against Portsmouth. [ 27 ] On 8 November 2010, he announced his departure from the baseball club, stating it was “ one of the greatest experiences of my liveliness ”. [ 28 ]
International career [edit ]
(wearing No.8) in the Dutch wall, facing a free kick against Davidsin the Dutch wall, facing a exempt kick against Sweden at Euro 2004 Davids made his debut for the Netherlands national team on 20 April 1994 in Tilburg, in a 1-0 get the better of to the Republic of Ireland. [ 29 ] He cursorily became an integral part of the team for the following ten, though he failed to win any major tournaments for the Oranje. During UEFA Euro 1996, he was sent home by then director Guus Hiddink for saying in a radio consultation, “ Hiddink should stop putting his head in some players ‘ asses. ” however, Davids remained appreciated by Hiddink, who included him in the Dutch squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. Davids ‘ most noteworthy performance for the national team came in the second gear round match against FR Yugoslavia. He scored the winning finish in the last minute of the game and ensured that the Dutch team went through to the following round to meet Argentina. The Netherlands finally finished fourth overall and Davids was named to the official FIFA “ Team of the Tournament ”. In 1999, Davids began wearing protective glasses following operation in his correct eye caused by glaucoma, [ 30 ] which developed in 1995 following center injuries. Davids first wore them on 4 September 1999 in a friendly match against Belgium. [ 31 ] On 17 May 2001, Davids was suspended by FIFA when he tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid hormone, nandrolone. [ 32 ] Davids played in Euro 2000, where the Netherlands reached the semi-finals before losing to Italy via punishment gunfight. Davids was again named as separate of the “ team of the Tournament ”. During the Netherlands ‘ Euro 2004 qualifying matches, Davids scored the Netherlands ‘ foremost qualifying goal in their unfold 3–0 victory against Belarus, and subsequently played in five of the remaining seven Group 3 fixtures and both legs of the play-off victory against Scotland. After Euro 2004, modern national team bus Marco vanguard Basten appointed Davids as captain of the team. however, miss of beginning team football at his club Inter mean Davids lost his position in the national team in October 2004, thus losing the captain ‘s armband in the march, which was late handed to goalkeeper Edwin van five hundred Sar. In October 2005, during the latter stages of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, Davids was recalled to the national team, though not as captain. He fell extinct of the movie again soon after, thereby missing out on the Dutch team for the World Cup .
dash of play [edit ]
A quick, hard-working, coherent team player, gifted with power and pace, ampere well as especial physical persuasiveness and stamina in malice of his bantam stature. Davids was renowned for his moral force and contentious style of play, taut score of opponents, and ability to break down opposition plays as a defensive midfielder. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 33 ] [ 34 ] [ 35 ] [ 36 ] In addition to his ball-winning ability, equally well as his forcible and athletic attributes, Davids was besides a highly talented and creative player, who was known for his great technique, vision, acceleration, close see, promptly footwork, and ball-juggling skills ; his technical ability and art at street soccer and as a freestyle football player earned him the dub “ The Mayor of the Street ” in his youth. [ 7 ] [ 34 ] Davids was besides a brawny striker of the ball, ampere well as being an accurate passer and cross with his excellent left foot, which enabled him to create chances for teammates after winning back possession. [ 6 ] [ 33 ] [ 34 ] His tactical intelligence, awareness, and ability to read the game, combined with his speed, energy, tackling, vision, and dribbling ability, allowed him to start counter-attacks after winning back self-control and besides enabled him to carry the ball forward, make attacking runs, and contribute to his team ‘s offensive dally by linking up the defense and the attack effectively. His versatility and wide range of skills frankincense enabled him to be deployed in respective early midfield positions throughout his career ; he was capable of playing as a leave midfielder, or as a central or box-to-box midfielder, or tied as a left back, and in his young person, was besides deployed as an attacking midfielder, or as a second striker on occasion. [ 7 ] [ 34 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ] [ 40 ] [ 41 ] Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of his coevals, although he received applaud for his play ability and leadership as a football player, Davids besides gained a degree of infamy due to his hard character, temper, and frankness, which frequently led him to be involved in conflicts with his managers ; he besides struggled with injuries throughout his career. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] Due to his aggressive and hard-tackling play style, Davids earned several nicknames throughout his career, such as “ The Piranha ”, “ Tubarão ” ( The Shark ), and most notably, “ The Pitbull ”. [ 7 ]
Media [edit ]
Davids has appeared in commercials for the american sportswear company Nike. [ 42 ] [ 43 ] In 1996, he starred in a Nike commercial titled “ good v Evil ” in a gladiatorial game set in a Roman amphitheater. Appearing aboard football players from around the world, including Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Eric Cantona, Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos, they defend “ the beautiful game “ against a team of demonic warriors, before it culminates with Cantona striking the ball and destroying evil. [ 42 ] In a global Nike ad campaign in the runup to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, Davids starred in a “ privy tournament “ commercial ( branded by Nike as “ Scorpion KO ” ) directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing aboard football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Luís Figo and japanese star Hidetoshi Nakata, with early actor Eric Cantona the tournament “ reviewer ”. [ 44 ] [ 45 ] Davids features in EA Sports ‘ FIFA video game series, and was selected to appear on the cover of FIFA Football 2003 alongside Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs and brazilian international Roberto Carlos. [ 46 ] The on-line game League of Legends by Riot Games used Davids ‘ compare for a quality skin called Striker Lucian without license. Davids sued, and Dutch courts ruled that Riot Games must compensate Davids a share of their earnings from the skin. [ 47 ]
Coaching career [edit ]
ajax [edit ]
In June 2011, Davids was elected to the new supervisory board at Ajax aboard Johan Cruyff. [ 48 ] [ 49 ] [ 50 ]
Barnet [edit ]
Davids playing for Barnet in 2013 Since 2010, Davids had been living in North London with his collaborator and had been participating in street football adenine well as managing Sunday league amateur side Brixton United. [ 51 ] On 11 October 2012, Davids joined League Two side Barnet in a player-manager role, aboard Mark Robson. The following day, on his managerial introduction, Barnet lost 4–1 at Underhill to Plymouth Argyle, with Davids leaving himself out of the squad. [ 52 ] They followed this up with a 4–0 base win over Northampton Town where Davids played the wax couple, captaining the team and being vote man of the Match. [ 53 ] In November, he started against Morecambe which Barnet lost 4–1. Near the end of December 2012, following the passing of Robson, Davids took charge of the club by himself. [ 54 ] Davids scored his first goal for Barnet in February 2013 in a 2–0 home victory over Southend United. [ 55 ] In March 2013, on the return journey from a frustration at Accrington Stanley, Davids sent the Barnet team coach bet on to pick up 36 supporters whose passenger car had broken down on the expressway and take them to the following service place. [ 56 ] Despite initially guiding Barnet off the foot of League Two, and lifting them out of the relegation zone, Barnet dropped back into the bottom two on the final day of the 2012–13 season, following a kill to Northampton Town, and were relegated out of the Football League at the expense of AFC Wimbledon who were able to escape by beating Fleetwood Town. On 21 May 2013, it was announced that Davids would remain in commit of Barnet for the club ‘s 2013–14 Conference Premier season. [ 57 ] In July 2013, Davids announced his decision to wear the count 1 shirt for the 2013–14 season, a shirt count traditionally worn by goalkeepers, saying that he intended to “ set a vogue ” of midfielders wearing the phone number 1 shirt. [ 58 ] Discipline was a major problem for Davids in the 2013–14 season. He was booked in each of the first eight league games he played, and sent off in three of them. There was besides controversy when it emerged that he would not attend away games that required an overnight bide, leaving assistant coach Ulrich Landvreugd to take charge. [ 59 ] In December 2013, Davids considered retiring from football after being sent off for the one-third time in the temper in Barnet ‘s 2–1 defeat by Salisbury City. [ 60 ] Davids resigned from his post as director on 18 January 2014. [ 61 ] In June 2014, Southern Counties East Football League side Greenwich Borough announced they were “ in advance talks ” with Davids, with president Perry Skinner stating that he was “ 70 % sure he ‘ll come on board ”. [ 62 ] The following month it was announced the club ‘s try to sign Davids had been abortive. [ 63 ]
Telstar [edit ]
In 2020, Davids was appointed adjunct bus of Dutch Eerste Divisie club Telstar. [ 64 ]
Read more: France national football team
Olhanense [edit ]
On January 4, 2021, Davids was announced as the head coach of portuguese side, S.C. Olhanense. [ 65 ] He was sacked on 19 July 2021. [ 66 ]
personal liveliness [edit ]
Davids was engaged to fashion couturier Olcay Gulsen. [ 67 ] In 1999, Davids started his own Street Soccer post called Monta Street. [ 68 ] Davids won a lawsuit filed in a dutch court against League of Legends developer Riot Games for using his likeness in an in-game association football-themed skin for the champion Lucian without his permission. [ 69 ] [ 70 ]
career statistics [edit ]
Playing [edit ]
clubhouse [edit ]
International [edit ]
Appearances and goals by national team and year[29][71]
National team
Year
Apps
Goals
Netherlands
1994
1
0
1995
4
0
1996
4
0
1997
0
0
1998
11
1
1999
6
3
2000
12
0
2001
6
0
2002
6
2
2003
9
0
2004
14
0
2005
1
0
Total
74
6
- Scores and results list the Netherlands goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Davids goal.[72]
managerial [edit ]
- As of 8 May 2021[73]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team
Nat
From
To
Record
P
W
D
L
Win %
Barnet
11 October 2012
18 January 2014
68
25
18
25
0 36.8
Olhanense
4 January 2021
19 July 2021
18
8
5
5
0 44.4
Total
86
33
23
30
0 38.37
Honours [edit ]
[ 74 ] Ajax [ 75 ]
Juventus [ 75 ]
Inter Milan [ 75 ]
Netherlands [ 75 ]
Individual
See besides [edit ]
References [edit ]
Read more: Swansea City A.F.C.